If China isn't soon drinking Oakland wines, don't blame it on Jean Quan.

By all accounts, Oakland's mayor turned into a sales dynamo during the last leg of a jam-packed trade mission to China with Port of Oakland Executive Director Omar Benjamin, City Council President Larry Reid and other port officials.

After meetings and tours of seaports and airports in Beijing and Shenzhen, during which Quan did her best to promote the port for exports to China and to market Chinese investment in Oakland's airport, seaport and hotels, the group took the ferry to Hong Kong. That's where Quan really made good on her promise to promote the small boutique wineries that have come to favor Oakland's urban vibe.

First she visited the Hong Kong Convention and Exposition Centre in Hong Kong where Oakland's Dashe Cellars had a booth at the wine and spirits HOFEX 2011 food and hospitality trade show.

Next the group stopped at the new California Vintage wine bar on Wyndham Street in Hong Kong. California Vintage is a business launched by a group of California wineries, including a couple from Alameda, but none from Oakland.

Quan, Oakland booster that she is, did everything she could to change that. By prior arrangement with the wine bar's managers, Quan had a case or two of wine donated by JC Cellars, Dashe and Urban Legend, shipped ahead, and those bottles were uncorked at a private event for Hong Kong businesses and investors last Thursday. She was coy about which wines went over best. Read the full article here